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Friday, November 20, 2009

Revisions and First Readers

I made good progress yesterday and I'm up to page 239 on my current revision. I think it's going well. After this version is complete, I'll read the entire manuscript aloud. I swear -- reading aloud is truly the very best thing a writer can do for his/her work. That's where I catch the oddball typos... the ones my eyes skim over because my brain fills in what it thinks it sees. Reading aloud makes me truly see every word.

This manuscript -Buffalo West Wing - which won't be out for another year or so - is the first one I'll be submitting without having a first reader go over it for me. It's a little scary to have had no other input on this story before I turn it in, but I think it's a good thing. My former first reader has gotten so busy and so involved in other things that his last two reads of my last two manuscripts have been cursory at best. It's almost as though the last two went through without any input anyway, so I take heart that I'll be okay. Wish me luck.

Monday and Tuesday I'll read BWW aloud and then enjoy the holiday with my family. Thanksgiving starts our Christmas decorating weekend. We've cut back on the amount of stuff we drag out of storage (have any of you cut back too?) and these days it's much more fun because the stress level is way down. We've cut back on gift-giving and tried to focus more on family time. It's a win-win situation for us all.

Lots of rambling today... and I'm not procrastinating. Truly, I'm looking forward to diving head first back into the revision. I've had my two cups of coffee and I've checked e-mail. I guess it's time to get started now...

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I'm the author of two bestselling mystery series as well other mysteries and short stories now available in ebook form. I write every day (mostly), blog on occasion, and interact with readers - always!